SCALING THE HEIGHTS

Rolex Testimonee and pioneering mountaineer DAWA YANGZUM SHERPA runs a mountaineering course that provides Nepali women the skills to conquer life's mountains.

HAILING FROM A RURAL VILLAGE NESTLED WITHIN NEPAL’S ICONIC MOUNTAINS, 4,200 METRES ABOVE SEA LEVEL, DAWA YANGZUM SAW MORE THAN 70 NOTABLE MALE MOUNTAINEERS FROM THE REGION MAKING THEIR MARK IN THE MOUNTAIN-CLIMBING WORLD. AS A FEMALE, SHE WAS NOT EXPECTED TO TREAD THE SAME PATH, BUT SHE PROVED HERSELF MORE THAN CAPABLE OF DOING SO WHEN SHE SUCCESSFULLY SCALED THE HIGHEST SUMMIT ON EARTH, MOUNT EVEREST, IN 2012— AT THE AGE OF 21.

Six years later, she received the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA) certification, making history as the first Nepali woman to earn the most elite title in mountaineering. This inducted her into an exclusive group of approximately 7,000 guides worldwide, of which only 1.5 per cent are women.